Early Look: L.A.’s Petit Trois

If I had the power to fly from New York City to Los Angeles without worrying about things like work deadlines and airplane tickets, I would be standing on North Highland Avenue today around noon.

That’s because Petit Trois is opening its doors at 12:30 p.m. The newest restaurant from L.A.’s super-hero team of chefs—Ludo Lefebvre, Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo—launches with sandwich lunch service. The trio are going old-school French here (their first restaurant, the neighboring Trois Mec, brilliant modern American French cooking).

Back to the Petit Trois lunch line I’m standing on in my imagination. There’s a choice of two sandwiches, pan-bagnat (the quintessential Provençal tuna salad sammy) and jambon-buerre, the simple, sublime ham, butter and bread combo. I’m going to get both, while being mindful that Ludo and his team are making only 200 sandwiches each day.

I will then line up for supper at Trois Mec, which starts at 5:30 p.m., and goes until 10. On the dinner menu is the platonic ideal of classic French dishes like steak frites, crispy confit chicken leg with brioche crumbs, and an omelet overstuffed with creamy Boursin cheese. I got to taste that omelet a few weeks ago at a Petit Trois preview, and I’m still obsessed with it. Another fan of that omelet: Justin Timberlake, who Instagrammed a picture of his empty plate with a few remnants of egg and the caption, “Los Angeles...You are NOT ready. Seriously...You’re welcome. #PetitTrois.” It currently has 164k likes.

A few things to note about Petit Trois:

*No reservations. First come, first served.*No cash. (Credit cards only.)*No tips. (“We are a non-tipped house. An 18% service charge will be added to all items,” says the fact sheet.)*No phone. The best (and only) contact is info@petittrois.com.*Full bar—a small, well-curated list of cocktails, wines and beers.*Late night menu: After 10 p.m., Petit Trois will serve just one thing: croque-monsieurs.

To get a glimpse of Ludo in his hometown in Burgundy, where he got all kinds of inspiration for Petit Trois, and a bunch of recipes that might one day be on the menu there, look out for the October 2014 issue of Food & Wine.